Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
*Start a free trial of HubSpot's new AEO tool:* clickhubspot.com/k50n
*Get the AEO playbook that made HubSpot the #1 most visible CRM in AI search:* clickhubspot.com/aqem
ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity are recommending your competitors — and you don't even know it. In this episode, HubSpot CMO Kipp Bodnar walks through the exact step-by-step playbook to audit how your brand shows up in AI search engines and fix the gaps so you get recommended first.
This is the Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) masterclass. Kipp runs live demos across all four major AI search engines, shows you where HubSpot is winning (and losing), and gives you the Monday-morning action plan to change how AI talks about your business. Whether you're a marketer, founder, or growth leader — this is the playbook you need for 2026.
🔗 Try the FREE HubSpot AEO Tool: clickhubspot.com/k50n (28-day free trial — track how you show up across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini & Perplexity daily)
📌 WHAT WE COVER:
→ How AI search engines decide which brands to recommend
→ Live demo: Same buyer query across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini & Perplexity
→ Why different AI engines give wildly different answers
→ The 3 ranking factors for AI search (brand mentions, reviews, domain authority)
→ How to audit your AI visibility in under an hour
→ Real example: HubSpot's customer service positioning gap
→ The exact playbook to fix how AI describes your product
→ 5 things to do Monday morning to improve your AEO
→ How review platforms like G2 and Trustpilot feed AI answers
→ Why positioning problems (not product problems) tank your AI visibility
🎙️ Host: Kipp Bodnar, CMO of HubSpot
⏱️ CHAPTERS:
00:00 — AI is recommending your competitors right now
00:30 — Live demo: Searching for CRM across 4 AI engines
02:00 — Why each AI engine gives different recommendations
03:00 — How to build your own AI visibility audit
04:00 — Comparing results across 5 buyer questions
05:00 — The customer service gap: When AI gets your positioning wrong
06:00 — How to generate the right prompts for your business
07:00 — Building the report for your CEO
08:00 — The 3 factors that drive AI search rankings
09:00 — Review platforms: The hidden AEO power lever
10:00 — Domain authority and fixing broken signals
11:00 — Real case study: Fixing HubSpot's Service Hub positioning
12:00 — The review platform playbook (G2, Capterra, Trustpilot)
13:00 — Brand mention strategy for AI visibility
14:00 — Changing how AI models learn about your product
15:00 — Why AEO is the biggest marketing opportunity of 2026
📺 Subscribe to Marketing Against the Grain for weekly marketing and AI strategy.
#AEO #AnswerEngineOptimization #AISearch #ChatGPT #Claude #Gemini #Perplexity #AIMarketing #HubSpot #SEO #MarketingStrategy #B2BMarketing #DigitalMarketing #AISearchOptimization #MarketingAgainstTheGrain
Ep. 418
Mentions
ChatGPT chatgpt.com/
Claude claude.ai/
Perplexity perplexity.ai/
Zendesk zendesk.com/
Intercom intercom.com
Host Links:
📲Kipp Bodnar, twitter.com/kippbodnar
📲Kieran Flanagan, twitter.com/searchbrat
‘Marketing Against The Grain’ is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by The HubSpot Podcast Network // Produced by Darren Clarke.
About the Show
Kipp Bodnar, HubSpot’s CMO and Kieran Flanagan Hubspot's SVP of Marketing, lead you down the rabbit hole of marketing trends, growth tactics and innovation. On the way you’ll pick up undiscovered strategies to give you that slight edge for success. These are not your typical twitter thread regurgitated marketing tactics that everyone is doing. These are new methods, with unfiltered examination of successful fresh ideas.
*Start a free trial of HubSpot's new AEO tool:* clickhubspot.com/k50n
*Get the AEO playbook that made HubSpot the #1 most visible CRM in AI search:* clickhubspot.com/aqem
ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity are recommending your competitors — and you don't even know it. In this episode, HubSpot CMO Kipp Bodnar walks through the exact step-by-step playbook to audit how your brand shows up in AI search engines and fix the gaps so you get recommended first.
This is the Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) masterclass. Kipp runs live demos across all four major AI search engines, shows you where HubSpot is winning (and losing), and gives you the Monday-morning action plan to change how AI talks about your business. Whether you're a marketer, founder, or growth leader — this is the playbook you need for 2026.
🔗 Try the FREE HubSpot AEO Tool: clickhubspot.com/k50n (28-day free trial — track how you show up across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini & Perplexity daily)
📌 WHAT WE COVER:
→ How AI search engines decide which brands to recommend
→ Live demo: Same buyer query across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini & Perplexity
→ Why different AI engines give wildly different answers
→ The 3 ranking factors for AI search (brand mentions, reviews, domain authority)
→ How to audit your AI visibility in under an hour
→ Real example: HubSpot's customer service positioning gap
→ The exact playbook to fix how AI describes your product
→ 5 things to do Monday morning to improve your AEO
→ How review platforms like G2 and Trustpilot feed AI answers
→ Why positioning problems (not product problems) tank your AI visibility
🎙️ Host: Kipp Bodnar, CMO of HubSpot
⏱️ CHAPTERS:
00:00 — AI is recommending your competitors right now
00:30 — Live demo: Searching for CRM across 4 AI engines
02:00 — Why each AI engine gives different recommendations
03:00 — How to build your own AI visibility audit
04:00 — Comparing results across 5 buyer questions
05:00 — The customer service gap: When AI gets your positioning wrong
06:00 — How to generate the right prompts for your business
07:00 — Building the report for your CEO
08:00 — The 3 factors that drive AI search rankings
09:00 — Review platforms: The hidden AEO power lever
10:00 — Domain authority and fixing broken signals
11:00 — Real case study: Fixing HubSpot's Service Hub positioning
12:00 — The review platform playbook (G2, Capterra, Trustpilot)
13:00 — Brand mention strategy for AI visibility
14:00 — Changing how AI models learn about your product
15:00 — Why AEO is the biggest marketing opportunity of 2026
📺 Subscribe to Marketing Against the Grain for weekly marketing and AI strategy.
#AEO #AnswerEngineOptimization #AISearch #ChatGPT #Claude #Gemini #Perplexity #AIMarketing #HubSpot #SEO #MarketingStrategy #B2BMarketing #DigitalMarketing #AISearchOptimization #MarketingAgainstTheGrain
Ep. 418
Mentions
ChatGPT chatgpt.com/
Claude claude.ai/
Perplexity perplexity.ai/
Zendesk zendesk.com/
Intercom intercom.com
Host Links:
📲Kipp Bodnar, twitter.com/kippbodnar
📲Kieran Flanagan, twitter.com/searchbrat
‘Marketing Against The Grain’ is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by The HubSpot Podcast Network // Produced by Darren Clarke.
About the Show
Kipp Bodnar, HubSpot’s CMO and Kieran Flanagan Hubspot's SVP of Marketing, lead you down the rabbit hole of marketing trends, growth tactics and innovation. On the way you’ll pick up undiscovered strategies to give you that slight edge for success. These are not your typical twitter thread regurgitated marketing tactics that everyone is doing. These are new methods, with unfiltered examination of successful fresh ideas.
